Family Finds Room to Grow at Las Dahlias

For five years, Micala and her two children constricted their lives into a single room at her parents’ tiny Boyle Heights house, overwhelmed with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating family friction.

Despite her full-time job as a hospital housekeeper, the 41-year-old single mom simply couldn’t afford for her family to have a place of their own and regretted the challenges her children faced because of sharing the two-bedroom, one-bathroom house with their grandparents.

“It was so crowded, and my parents were really restrictive with what my kids could do, so we mostly stayed in our room,” Micala said. “During the pandemic, my kids struggled with distance learning and missed their friends.”

Her workdays held no reprieve for her either. Micala worked a labor-intensive job, scrubbing and cleaning hospitals from top to bottom. Afterwards, she would sit in her car and cry before heading to her parents’ house so her children wouldn’t see her break down.

“I just felt like I couldn’t escape my stress. It wasn’t a home,” she said.

Micala always had her sights set on a better life for her and her children. She earned her certification as a licensed massage therapist and began looking for affordable housing options. Then her years of physical work caught up to her. In 2022, she was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, forcing her to go on disability.

But she kept searching for a place for her and her kids to call home.

In January, she was given a great gift: Out of the 1,000 individuals who applied to Las Dahlias, Micala was one of 16 families to secure housing at Las Dahlias, National CORE’s new affordable housing community in the heart of East Los Angeles. Micala and her children now have space to spread out and enjoy themselves. They are no longer forced to squeeze themselves into the cramped quarters that they were used to.

“Las Dahlias is a blessing,” Micala said. “It was very emotional to wait so long and then finally hear that I got my own apartment. The property managers pushed hard for me to get this apartment and I never once gave up hope. It’s a big blessing for me and my kids to finally have our own space and home.”

Since moving into Las Dahlias, Micala’s life just keeps getting better. Her children are excited for the school year and everyone has their own space in a much more peaceful home. She’s no longer fighting with her parents and a recent operation has addressed her carpal tunnel pain.

The changes have inspired Micala to consider launching her own therapeutic massage clinic in East L.A.

She said she knows firsthand the intense stress that food service, healthcare and hospitality workers feel, and that everyone needs a healthy way to relax.

“I would love to have my own little massage clinic,” she said. “I think it’s now a real possibility. I love the idea of helping others.”